herfdog
I am no rocket surgeon
After much discussions about booze in chat, I've been challenged to try out some good scotch (in the way of a scotch small bottles bomb from @Zmilin - thanks for widening my horizons brother!)
So, here are my (rookie) observations on a small tasting session of 5 different scotches. Zdenko sent me about 2 oz of four of his favorite scotches, and I already had one "entry level" that I purchased - I figured trying about a quarter ounce of each to take note was the best way before drinking them, in order to have comparative notes on them.
here are the 5 golden beverages. I'll try to do that on more as time goes, but today that's all I have.
Cutty Sark - Prohibition edition. This is a blended scotch.
Johnny Walker Blue Label. I had the black and red before, but the blue sets apart...
Hibiki 12 years
MacAllan 12 years
MacAllan fine oak 15 years - I purposely tried those two variants of MacAllan one after the other to see how different they are.
I am by no mean a pro scotch drinker, but did some online research on how to taste whiskeys prior to the tasting session. I also tried to clean my pallate. Otherwise, I pretty go the same way as I would with a cigar.
I started purposely by the blended scotch, thinking that the better ones would stand out more after trying a lesser quality whiskey.
here are my observations. Feel free to comment.
Scotty Sark Prohibition
The scotch is a pale gold. The paler of the lot.
On the nose, it has some sugar, and aroma of burnt caramel, plus a scent that reminds both of scotch and rhum.
It burns the tongue when sipping. Flavors include spices. Lots of it. A tiny bit of sugar. It is dry. The finish is creamy but dry.
This one is NOT smooth. Overall I'd say its too dry.
That was also my observations when I first tried it... its dry. Spicey dry and burning.
Johnny Walker blue label.
The scotch is a pale gold, almost yellow.
On the nose, there is some spices, and an aroma that reminds me of the bubble gum we had in hockey cards packs as a kid, without the sugar. Plus something that reminds me of oranges.
It doesn't burn the tongue much. There are some spices, and it is rather creamy. Pretty smooth.
On the finish, flavors are some sugary hay
It is WAY more enjoyable than the blended one just before.
Hibiki 12 years
This one is golden. Less pale
The nose is a sweety citrus - there's an aroma that somewhat reminds me the citrusy shoe polish sent minus the chemicals. Its interesting.
It does not burn the tongue and have spices and sugar. It is very creamy and smooth.
The finish has fruity oranges and is rather long by comparison with the previous ones.
MacAllan 12 years
It is the darker one, I'd call the color amber more than gold.
the nose is more subtle and dry. Notes of fruits, spices.
There is no burn whatsoever on the tongue, but a subtle creamy smooth sugar flavor.
It is really smooth with a subtle and long finish.
Of the five, this has been my favorite.
MacAllan fine oak 15 years.
This one is dark gold. Not as dark as the non oaked MacAllan, but darker than the other ones.
It also has a subtle nose; the aroma somehow reminds me of pine gum with some spices and sugar.
Its not burning the tongue much and have flavors of spices - more peppery than previous spices - and is really creamy.
It is smooth, but not as much as the non-oaked MacAllan.
The finish is peppery and linger a while.
It is very enjoyable.
I'd be hard pressed to put them in order of preferences, but will sure enjoy them very much, I still have a good glass of each of them to savour with a fine cigar on a proper occasion.
Again, I am still a whiskey noob, so please do comment on what I should be looking for when tasting them, as I am sure I could enjoy them even more with better knowledge of what to try and what to look for when drinking whiskeys. This is a totally different hobby than cigars, and thanks again @Zmilin for this awesome occasion to try some fine scotch without having to spend on whole bottles just to try them. Whenever the occasion arise, I'll be sure to reciprocate one way or another brother.
So, here are my (rookie) observations on a small tasting session of 5 different scotches. Zdenko sent me about 2 oz of four of his favorite scotches, and I already had one "entry level" that I purchased - I figured trying about a quarter ounce of each to take note was the best way before drinking them, in order to have comparative notes on them.
here are the 5 golden beverages. I'll try to do that on more as time goes, but today that's all I have.
Cutty Sark - Prohibition edition. This is a blended scotch.
Johnny Walker Blue Label. I had the black and red before, but the blue sets apart...
Hibiki 12 years
MacAllan 12 years
MacAllan fine oak 15 years - I purposely tried those two variants of MacAllan one after the other to see how different they are.
I am by no mean a pro scotch drinker, but did some online research on how to taste whiskeys prior to the tasting session. I also tried to clean my pallate. Otherwise, I pretty go the same way as I would with a cigar.
I started purposely by the blended scotch, thinking that the better ones would stand out more after trying a lesser quality whiskey.
here are my observations. Feel free to comment.
Scotty Sark Prohibition
The scotch is a pale gold. The paler of the lot.
On the nose, it has some sugar, and aroma of burnt caramel, plus a scent that reminds both of scotch and rhum.
It burns the tongue when sipping. Flavors include spices. Lots of it. A tiny bit of sugar. It is dry. The finish is creamy but dry.
This one is NOT smooth. Overall I'd say its too dry.
That was also my observations when I first tried it... its dry. Spicey dry and burning.
Johnny Walker blue label.
The scotch is a pale gold, almost yellow.
On the nose, there is some spices, and an aroma that reminds me of the bubble gum we had in hockey cards packs as a kid, without the sugar. Plus something that reminds me of oranges.
It doesn't burn the tongue much. There are some spices, and it is rather creamy. Pretty smooth.
On the finish, flavors are some sugary hay
It is WAY more enjoyable than the blended one just before.
Hibiki 12 years
This one is golden. Less pale
The nose is a sweety citrus - there's an aroma that somewhat reminds me the citrusy shoe polish sent minus the chemicals. Its interesting.
It does not burn the tongue and have spices and sugar. It is very creamy and smooth.
The finish has fruity oranges and is rather long by comparison with the previous ones.
MacAllan 12 years
It is the darker one, I'd call the color amber more than gold.
the nose is more subtle and dry. Notes of fruits, spices.
There is no burn whatsoever on the tongue, but a subtle creamy smooth sugar flavor.
It is really smooth with a subtle and long finish.
Of the five, this has been my favorite.
MacAllan fine oak 15 years.
This one is dark gold. Not as dark as the non oaked MacAllan, but darker than the other ones.
It also has a subtle nose; the aroma somehow reminds me of pine gum with some spices and sugar.
Its not burning the tongue much and have flavors of spices - more peppery than previous spices - and is really creamy.
It is smooth, but not as much as the non-oaked MacAllan.
The finish is peppery and linger a while.
It is very enjoyable.
I'd be hard pressed to put them in order of preferences, but will sure enjoy them very much, I still have a good glass of each of them to savour with a fine cigar on a proper occasion.
Again, I am still a whiskey noob, so please do comment on what I should be looking for when tasting them, as I am sure I could enjoy them even more with better knowledge of what to try and what to look for when drinking whiskeys. This is a totally different hobby than cigars, and thanks again @Zmilin for this awesome occasion to try some fine scotch without having to spend on whole bottles just to try them. Whenever the occasion arise, I'll be sure to reciprocate one way or another brother.
